CPU Fan Won't Turn On

Go into the bios and turn off smartfan(under hardware monitor) see if that helps, if not plug the fan into the other 4 pin header in front of the ram(between that and the floppy connector) and try that...

if it spins the board has a defective fan header...rma if you want...or just use the other connector...or even any 3 pin connector they are backwards compatible.

If not the fan may be defective. replace it if you can...contact intel if its a stock fan

Just so you know my Zalman 9500AT does not spin until the system is loaded, then it stays on...a bios update fixed that...but turning off smart fan does the same thing.

I edited the message above...so yes there are 2 4 pin fan headers...also the fan will work on even a 3 pin just let the 4th pin hang over the edge..just make sure you like up the latch...

is it stock?

may as well give a try to the sys 3 pin fan header near the cpu socket...just make sure to like up the latch

Just don't listen to the 3 pin fans are lower power and 4 pin are higher....cause its not true...4 pin is a different way of varying speeds(something you don't need....since you are not getting any speed)
http://www.intel.com/support/mothe [...] 012074.htm

If it still does not spin....contact whoever you go it from to get a replacement.

If its not in warranty, i would recommend a new heatsink like the Arctic Cooling Freezer 7 Pro(its cheap and powerful. but not too quiet unless you turn fan speed control back on). If you go this rout make sure you clean all the thermal past of the cpu before installing it. this is done with high purity rubbing alcohol(drug store has it try to find 99%) and Q tips or coffee(or both ) filters work well to if there is room to use them as a cloth. the cleaner the better.

About you board not booting, sometimes that board may have to try to boot shut off and boot again(it will do this on its own.) before it works after the power has been lost for a while, but i am not sure if it does this at stock. Overclocked it will sometimes.

what case?

nukemaster: Antec 4480

Do you guys think that the CPU was permanently damaged by the fan not being on? Like I said, I didn't even notice anything was wrong until I saw that the fan was not moving.

That case will hold it fine, you may have to remove the side duct....

Its about the same size as a Sonata case

Sonata II with freezer and plenty of room

you can try to mount an 80mm fan on the side air duct and if its close enough it may cool the cpu enough to run. Or you can underclock it and keep an eye on the temps...

Use coretemp - Keep it under 70 for your fanless time being

Be warned that without a fan the voltage system does not get much cooling either...should not be a problem for your system with the 120 rear fan there and the rather low power use of that cpu...

http://www.alcpu.com/CoreTemp/